1Lt Lance LaGrange was KIA while flying F-100 #563122 from the 31st TFW at Tuy HOA AB near Binh Dinh province in Vietnam during an LZ Prep mission.
Lance was raised in Maspeth, NY, and graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, New York with a BSEE Degree. He also graduated at the top of his USAF pilot training class 68A at Craig AFB.
His first operational assignment was flying F- 100s with the 306th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 31st Tactical Fighter Wing at Tuy Hoa AB, Vietnam. His combat tour began on June 6, 1968. He had been in Vietnam for less than a month when he was killed. Lance was the “sole surviving son” of a WWII fighter pilot who was also KIA.
Lance met his bride Charlene (Charley) from Utica, NY during college. In 1983, Charlene suffered a fatal stroke while flying from Charlotte to Albany, NY.
(source: Who Are Those Guys, by Thomas Mangen available on ebook at Amazon.com, Dewey’s list)